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In mathematics, potential ow around a circular cylinder is a classical solution for the ow of an inviscid,
incompressible uid around a cylinder that is transverse
to the ow. Far from the cylinder, the ow is unidirectional and uniform. The ow has no vorticity and thus
Colors: pressure eld. Red is high and blue is low. Velocity
the velocity eld is irrotational and can be modeled as a
vectors.
potential ow. Unlike a real uid, this solution indicates a
net zero drag on the body, a result known as d'Alemberts
paradox.
The ow of an incompressible uid past a cylinder
is one of the rst mathematical models that a student of
uid dynamics encounters. This ow is an excellent vehicle for the study of concepts that will be encountered
numerous times in mathematical physics, such as vector
elds, coordinate transformations, and most important,
the physical interpretation of mathematical results. [1]
Mathematical solution
A cylinder (or disk) of radius R is placed in twodimensional, incompressible, inviscid ow. The goal is
and pressure p in a
to nd the steady velocity vector V
plane, subject to the condition that far from the cylinder
the velocity vector is
= Ubi + 0b
V
j,
PHYSICAL INTERPRETATION
Being invisicid and irrotational, Bernoullis equation allows the solution for pressure eld to be obtained directly
from the velocity eld:
p=
)
1 ( 2
U V 2 + p ,
2
V 2 = Vr2 + V2 ,
( 2
)
1 2
R
R4
p = U 2 2 cos(2) 4 + p .
2
r
r
In the gures, the colorized eld referred to as pressure
is a plot of
Pressure eld (colors), stream function (black) with contour interval 0f 0.2U r from bottom to top, velocity potential (white)
with contour interval 0.2U r from left to right.
R2
R4
p p
=
2
cos(2)
.
U 2
r2
r4
2 = 0.
The solution for is obtained most easily in polar coor- The ow being incompressible, a stream function can be
dinates r and , related to conventional Cartesian coor- found such that
dinates by x = r cos and y = r sin . In polar coordinates, Laplaces equation is (see Del in cylindrical and
= b
V
k.
spherical coordinates):
1
r r
(
)
1 2
r
+ 2 2 =0
r
r
= 0.
V
Therefore a contour of a constant value of will also
. For the ow past a
be a stream line, a line tangent to V
cylinder, we nd:
R2
Vr =
= U 1 2 cos
2 Physical interpretation
r
r
and
1
V =
= U
r
(
)
R2
1 + 2 sin .
r
Laplaces equation is linear, and is one of the most elementary partial dierential equations. This simple equa and p because
tion yields the entire solution for both V
of the constraint of irrotationality and incompressibility.
3
and p, the consisHaving obtained the solution for V
tency of the pressure gradient with the accelerations can
be noted.
The dynamic pressure at the upstream stagnation point
has value of U 2 /2, a value needed to decelerate the free
stream ow of speed U. This same value appears at the
downstream stagnation point, this high pressure is again
need to decelerate the ow to zero speed. This symmetry
arises only because the ow is completely frictionless.
The low pressure on sides on the cylinder is needed to
provide the centripetal acceleration of the ow:
V 2
p
=
,
r
L
where L is the radius of curvature of the ow. But
L R, and V U. The integral of the equation for centripetal acceleration, which will over a distance r R
will thus yield
p p U 2 .
The exact solution has, for the lowest pressure,
3
p p = U 2 .
2
The low pressure, which must be present to provide the
centripetal acceleration, will also increase the ow speed
as the uid travels from higher to lower values of pressure.
Thus we nd the maximum speed in the ow, V = 2U,
in the low pressure on the sides of the cylinder.
A value of V > U is consistent with conservation of the
volume of uid. With the cylinder blocking some of the
ow, V must be greater than U somewhere in the plane
through the center of the cylinder and transverse to the
ow.
4 References
[1] http://library.wolfram.com/infocenter/Articles/2731/
[2] William S. Janna, Introduction to Fluid Mechanics, PWS
Publishing Company, Boston (1993)
5.1
Text
5.2
Images
File:CylinderStreamfunctionPotential.png
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CylinderStreamfunctionPotential.png License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Incredio
File:CylinderVelocityPressure.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/CylinderVelocityPressure.png License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Incredio
File:CylinderVelocityPressureQuadrant.png
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CylinderVelocityPressureQuadrant.png License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Incredio
File:Inviscid_flow_around_a_cylinder.gif Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Inviscid_flow_around_a_
cylinder.gif License: CC0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Thierry Dugnolle
5.3
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